I’m all about a good before-and-after moment. Pre- and post-acne pictures? Bring 'em. A terrible teen romcom with a makeover scene? Hell yes. And apparently my tastes know no bounds, because I am now obsessed with a video I found on Instagram late, late at night (of course), which shows a toenail transformation that’s so miraculous, horrifying, magical, and delightful, it deserves an Emmy. Or at least a zillion views, as it’s sure to get.
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The video comes to us from Russian nail salon, Nail Sunny (@nail_sunny), known for creating incredibly, uh, UNIQUE nail art, like 3D Kim Kardashian booty nails, blinking eyeball nails, and now, completely new toenails.
I know, I know—the video seems super gross, but if you can handle looking at a broken toenail, you can handle watching the clip. Plus, it has an incredibly satisfying ending that I would 10/10 recommend to anyone wanting to feel happy for a second.
The video shows a pretty banged-up toenail which an aesthetician first trims, scrapes, and de-gunks for a painful-looking amount of time before slathering on a pink-like gel to create a mold of a new toenail, which she then files down to size. After that, it’s painted black, sprinkled with some magical fairy dust (or, okay, texturizing crystals), dried, and boom—brand-new beautiful nail. Crazy, right?
A post shared by МАНИКЮР 1200₽💅🏻ПЕДИКЮР 1700₽ (@nail_sunny)
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The video has racked up almost a million views, though not every comment is a happy one: “As an esthetician/nail tech, you learn not to touch or cover an infected nail. I’m not sure why you are promoting this but it’s not good for the nail in the healing process, and it’s [an] opportunity for it to spread,” reads one comment, while another comment simply states, “fungus.”
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And, yeah, for once, the internet is correct. “That nail needs some medication—it looks like it could be fungal,” says Yale dermatologist Mona Gohara, MD, noting that only a doctor should be treating an infected nail, and definitely not an aesthetician, as the infection could easily spread to your other nails or other customers.
But aside from the stark reality of this video, I’ll still watch it over and over again for the big reveal at the end. At least it’s not as terrifying as pimple-popping, right? Right.
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Chloe Metzger is the deputy beauty director at Cosmopolitan, overseeing the editorial content and growth strategy of the hair, makeup, and skin space on digital, while also obsessively writing about the best hair products for every hair type (curly girl here; whattup), and the skincare routines that really, truly work (follow her on Instagram to see behind-the-scenes pics of that magazine life). She brings nearly a decade of writing and editing expertise, and her work has appeared in Allure, Health, Fitness, Marie Claire, StyleCaster, and Parents. She also has an unhealthy adoration for Tom Hanks and would like to please meet him one day, if you could arrange that. Thanks.
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